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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for October 9, 2005.
Click Here To Subscribe To The DVD Dossier Newsletter
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Published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less, the online source for DVD Discounts & Deals
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In This Issue
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October 9, 2005
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| Join the Columbia House DVD Club and Save... |
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Choose from big hit films like "Ray," "The Grudge," "Catwoman," "Anchorman" and many more.
For a limited time, get FREE SHIPPING when you sign-up here.
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This week, Robert De Niro stars in "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Thorton Wilder. The film also stars Kathy Bates, Harvey Keitel and Gabriel Byrne as they search for the divine reason behind the accidental deaths of five seemingly innocent people.
From visionary director Ridley Scott comes "Kingdom of Heaven," an epic of courage, honor and adventure. Orlando Bloom stars as Balian, a young Frenchman in Medieval Jerusalem during the Crusades, who, having lost everything, finds redemption in a heroic fight against overwhelming forces to save his people and fulfill his destiny as a knight.
The film is available in widescreen and full screen formats and also stars Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and Eva Green.
"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is a coming of age adventure based on Ann Brashares' best selling novel about a special 16th summer in the lives of four lifelong friends who are separated for the first time.
This is a family-friendly flick for pre-teen and adolescent girls... and, perhaps, their mothers, too. Director Ken Kwapis gets fine performances out of his youthful ensemble cast, which includes Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively.
Extras on "Sisterhood" include deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette and a "Suckumentary," which is a rough cut of the documentary two of the characters in the movie made over the summer.
The film itself is available in - you guessed it - widescreen and full screen versions.
"Kicking & Screaming" is a light weight family comedy starring Will Ferrell as a laid back vitamin salesman who faces off with his dad as coaches of rival soccer teams and "Unleashed" stars Hong Kong action superstar Jet Li as a martial arts expert enslaved by a vicious gangster (Bob Hoskins) who uses him as human attack dog to terrorize his victims.
"Unleashed" is available in an Unrated Widescreen Edition and an R-Rated Full Screen Edition.
Hillary Swank executive produces and stars in "11:14," a compelling thriller available this week from New Line Home Entertainment. The cast includes Colin Hanks, Patrick Swayze, Barbara Hershey, Rachael Leigh Cook, Shawn Hatosy, Henry Thomas and Ben Foster. "11:14" tells the intricately connected story of a series of incidents that all converge one fateful evening - with life-altering effects.
The story starts at 11:13 PM as Jack (Thomas) drives down the freeway en route to a late-night rendezvous with his girlfriend. One minute later, his car crashes into a mysterious stranger with seemingly fatal results. Jack attempts to hide the body, launching a journey which takes us through five different storylines that collide in a series of deadly and ironic twists.
The cartoon cat and mouse team of Tom and Jerry return to DVD this week to headline "The Fast and the Furry," a full-length animated feature.
"Me and You and Everyone We Know" is a quirky award-winning indie flick and a poetic and penetrating look at how everyday people struggle to connect with one another in an increasingly isolated modern world.
It's the first movie from writer/director Miranda July (who also stars) and she succeeds in creating an intensely personal film. It's a touching look at the ongoing difficulties people have connecting with each other in contemporary life.
Launched in 1974, the Z Channel was one of the country's first pay cable stations. Z Channel's prominence was solidified in 1980 when maverick programmer Jerry Harvey took over as head of programming.
A new documentary from Xan Cassavetes, "Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession," chronicles Harvey's emergence as a brilliant programmer, but also explores Harvey's emotional and psychological descent, which eventually resulted in a shocking murder/suicide and the eventual demise of the Z channel itself.
From television this week, we get the First Season of "Veronica Mars," the Second Season of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," the Fourth Seasons of "The Jeffersons" and "Soap" (available separately) and the Second Season of "Arrested Development."
"Arrested Development" follows the misadventures of the Bluths, a hilariously dysfunctional clan of rich misfits trying to maintain their lavish lifestyle after the incarceration of their patriarch, the criminally buffoonish George Bluth, Senior. The show won 5 Emmy® Awards last year, including "Outstanding Comedy Series" and received 11 Emmy® nominations this year.
This 3-Disc boxed set includes all 18 episodes from the series' Second Season, as well as audio commentary on selected episodes, deleted scenes, bloopers, outtakes and more.
That's this week's news; as always, a more complete list of new releases - along with announcements of upcoming discs - is included below.
Check back with us next week for more new announcements and reviews.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: October 11, 2005 |
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Visit us online to see a comprehensive list of new DVD releases for the next six weeks.
Links above are for Region 1 (USA) Editions. Availability and release dates elsewhere may vary.
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"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" arrives on DVD November 8th.
The $205 million box office hit is based on the beloved classic novel by Roald Dahl. Directed by Tim Burton, the visually spectacular family fantasy stars Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore and Helena Bonham Carter. But much like a bonbon that promises more than it delivers, the film has an appealing wrapper, but a hollow center.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" will be available in a 2-Disc Deluxe Widescreen Edition with special features that include 5 making-of featurettes, menu challenges and a pack of 5 exclusive limited edition trading cards.
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A Single Disc Edition (with only two special features) will be available in both widescreen and full screen formats.
This is the story of the eccentric candy-maker Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie Bucket (Highmore), a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka’s extraordinary factory.
Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw "golden tickets" from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years.
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The film is bizarrely compelling - and much closer to its source material than 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," which cast the wonderful Gene Wilder in the role of the visionary candymaker.
This "Charlie," though, is mostly for those who like their confectionery rich, but dark.
Pre-order "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" now and save 45%. |
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On November 22nd, Warner Home Video’s most requested title, the original 1933 RKO classic "King Kong," will debut in a 2-Disc Special Edition as well as a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition.
Now newly restored from rare nitrate film elements and digitally mastered - in glorious black and white - "King Kong" features extensive bonus content, including a seven-part documentary with the Oscar®-winning director of this year's King Kong remake, Peter Jackson.
Also included is a feature length documentary on Kong creator Merian C. Cooper, directed by renowned filmmaker Kevin Brownlow.
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Rounding out Kong's special features is commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston with Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Ruth Rose, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong.
The Collector’s Edition DVD will be released in a keepsake tin with a 20-page reproduction of the original 1933 souvenir program, "King Kong" original one-sheet reproduction postcards and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage theatrical poster.
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"The King Kong Collection," featuring two more new-to-DVD titles – "The Son of Kong" and "Mighty Joe Young" – along with the "King Kong 2-Disc Special Edition" will also be available on the same day.
With equal parts adventure, horror and old-fashioned romance, "King Kong" is a milestone of movie-making that has endured for more than seven decades.
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Recently named as one of the 100 Best Films of All Time by Time Magazine, "King Kong" premiered in New York City in 1933. The film was an instant success, breaking box-office records to become one of the top moneymakers of the 1930s.
Directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with a rousing score by Max Steiner, "King Kong" stars Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot and Fay Wray, whose memorable performance as a damsel in distress cemented her place in pop culture and earned her the nickname “The Queen of Scream.”
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Armstrong plays movie producer Carl Denham who travels to a mysterious, uncharted island in search of material for his next film. Also aboard are unemployed actress Ann Darrow (Wray) and adventurer Jack Driscoll (Cabot).
Once the crew reaches Skull Island they discover it is home to prehistoric beasts including Kong, a giant ape who becomes obsessed with the crew’s blonde starlet.
"King Kong" teems with memorable moments, from the audience’s first glance at Kong himself to his last stand atop the Empire State Building.
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The film’s state-of-the-art visual effects, entertaining story and touching conclusion captivated audiences and started a worldwide love affair with the giant ape.
Way ahead of its time, "King Kong" defied the technological limitations of the ‘30s.
Special effects pioneer Willis O’Brien’s revolutionary stop-motion animation was not only technically brilliant but also highly imaginative and continues to impress even in today’s era of computer-generated wizardry.
Pre-order one of the "King Kong" DVDs today and save up to 35%.
(Also on November 22nd, watch for the 1967 remake of "King Kong," available separately. The movie stars Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin and Jessica Lange and was directed by John Guillermin.)
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"Heights" arrives on DVD November 1st.
Directed by Chris Terrio, "Heights" follows five characters over twenty-four hours on a fall day in New York City. Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), a photographer, is having second thoughts about her upcoming marriage to Jonathan (James Marsden), a lawyer.
On the same day, Isabel’s mother Diana (Glenn Close) learns that her husband has a new lover and begins to re-think her life choices and her open marriage. Diana and Isabel’s paths cross with Alec (Jesse Bradford), a young actor, and with Peter (John Light), a journalist.
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Soon, hidden connections between the five characters begin to emerge (turns out New York City is a small world, after all) and their stories start to unravel so that all these folks face life-changing choices before the sun rises on the next day.
Like "Me and You and Everyone We Know," another small film out this week, "Heights" is quirky and more than a little precocious as it scales the endless mysteries of human relationships.
But it has a great cast - Michael Murphy, George Segal, Isabel Rosselini and Eric Bogosian show up in small roles - and it's a strong directorial debut for Terrio.
Also noteworthy is the fact that "Heights" is the last film produced by the team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, as Merchant died earlier this year.
Pre-order "Heights" now and save 25%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: October 18, 2005 |
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The DVD Dossier is a free weekly newsletter that contains objective information about new DVD releases that has been researched and written by the editors at DVD Direct 4 Less, as well as advertisements and promotional information provided by movie studios.
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